Gordon Ramsay tried to start beef with vegans, got served a slice of humble pie instead

As well as being well known for his hot-headed temper and excellent cooking skills, Gordon Ramsay is also widely renowned for his amazing insults. In the past, he's described dishes as looking "like vomit", branded contestants as "f**king donkeys", and slated some restaurants so hard that they've ended up closing down.

So, of course, the people of Twitter love to goad the TV chef by sending him pictures of their own meals.

This week, one Twitter user sent Ramsay a rather sketchy-looking picture of their dinner, asking, "how does my vegan lasagne look" - and the insult king wasted no time in making his opinions known.

Credit: Twitter/savebrincess

Rather than knock the quality of the food itself, however, Ramsay decided to take aim at all vegans.

And, somehow, as if just saying the word "vegan" on Twitter isn't enough to summon flocks of plant-based dieters from all over the world, Ramsay's tweet attracted hundreds of complaints almost instantaneously.

"Funny how you always have vegetables with your meat though. If it was so tasty you could eat meat on its own without sauces, chips or veg etc.," said user @Turkletondon, who makes a good point about the value of food groups other than meat.

Another tweeter, @Jhordn_, pointed out that being vegan isn't just about abstaining from meat-eating, it's also about caring for the environment, and for the well-being of animals that are eventually led to slaughter. "The problem is that there are so many serious issues caused by animal agriculture that it’s more than just a personal choice," he said. "Some vegans talk about these issues loudly because they want to spread the message since it solves most of these issues."

And then PETA themselves got involved - and they took the joke surprisingly well. However, they did seem ever so slightly over-optimistic about Ramsay's stance on meat-eating.

But they hit back with their own pun on one of his show's names, "Hell's Kitchen".

And helpfully recommended a Michelin starred vegan restaurant that would hopefully cater to his refined pallet.

But, of course, not all the comments were from people trying to convert Ramsay to their animal-friendly ways. Some came out to support the chef - and indeed all omnivores - by saying that meat-eating is a valid choice.

"I like vegans that accept ppl for what they are and don’t shove their lifestyle choices down other ppls necks. I respect your choice to be vegan. Now respect my choice to be an omnivore . Thnx . His comment is perfectly valid if you think about it," said user, @lilmissdiffrent.

Other people, meanwhile, just went ahead and made their own jokes on the subject.

Despite all the anti-vegan comments, however, the person who kicked off the whole debate seemed pretty thrilled just to have Ramsay engage with their tweet.

All in all, veganism is actually a very respectable and seemingly worthwhile cause for people to pursue - but that doesn't mean that everyone should be forced to convert. Plant-based dieters are well within their rights to tweet their vegan lasagne at famous chefs until the cows come home, but omnivores are equally entitled to opt for the meaty dishes.